4/21/14

Marty Golden's "Fight against Drugs"

In Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, there have been a significant number of drug-related deaths and overdoses over the past year. According to the NYC Department of Health, accidental heroin overdoses killed 84 Brooklyn residents in 2012 -- up by 26 over 2011.

According to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people who fatally overdose on drugs in the U.S. has more than doubled over the past ten years. Fatal overdoses of opiates like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone have quadrupled since 1999. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., killing more people than traffic, guns or suicide.

According to a mailer last week from State Senator Marty Golden, his office is waging a "fight against drugs" that includes the appointment of the New York State Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction; a town hall meeting, hosted by Golden, with representatives from the Brooklyn D.A.'s office, the Dynamite Youth Coalition and the NYPD; six drug-related arrests in the aftermath of that town hall meeting; Golden's support for S2941, which would make it a felony for a medical practitioner or a pharmacist to "falsely" fill a prescription for a controlled substance; allocating $450,000 in the 2014-15 state budget deal for prevention, treatment and addiction services for heroin and opioid abusers; and passage of S.64778, allowing health care professionals to increase public access to Narcan/Naloxone, which can prevent death from an overdose, if administered quickly.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Golden will host a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 26 from 10 AM to 2 PM. For more information, call 718-238-6044.

State Senate Panel Discussion on Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse

On May 1 from 9:30 AM to 3 PM, the New York State Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction will host a panel discussion on heroin and prescription drug abuse in the Senate Hearing Room , on the 19th floor at 250 Broadway in Manhattan.

For more information about attending the discussion, call 718-238-6044.

NYPD Drug Hotline

Golden's flyer advises that anyone who wants to report drug activity or locations anonymously can do so by calling the NYPD Drug Hotline at 1-888-374-3784.